Thursday, January 13, 2011

I saved the best for last... and the hardest too! I now know what this apron is 30 bucks ha! While it is pretty straightforward it is a fairly detail oriented apron, cuts on the bias, lining up stripes etc. I am hoping with a tutorial I will take the hardest parts out of it :) And it did take me a while to figure everything out and then a little while longer to get the pattern right. (Hence the slight delay in post, please forgive my tardiness hee hee) I must say I do LOVE how it turned out though:

I wish I had been able to get a picture of it ON because the length is actually perfect on a living breathing person :) I also love my new necklace inspired by this apron.

I got THIS gorgeous set of measuring spoons from Anthropologie a while back.

I actually caught my husband using them the other day and warned him that he may want to stick with the plastic ones because if the anthro ones broke I would be super bummed. Then I thought how silly to waste something so pretty in a drawer. Since I am an avid baker I thought it would be cute to string it on some cute thread and make a necklace. First I tried the tablespoon but that was too big, and pretty heavy.

I might even downsize to the 1/2 a tsp :) In any event what is fun about this particular tutorial is there is a pattern for the top of the apron (found HERE) but you also get to stretch those sewing skills and follow a long to make your own tiered bottom of the apron. Shall we sail away?

Once you have printed out your pattern follow the instructions to tape them together. If the lines don't match up perfectly don't sweat it, bear in mind I do it basically by hand (pattern making programs are expensive!) Once you have taped them together we are going to cut out our apron top pieces. When you are done you should have the "non-main" pieces that look like this:

and the main piece that looks like this:

Make sure when you cut the waistband part of the apron you do so on the bias so that your stripes are diagonal. This makes a huge difference in the overall look and it eats up a huge amount of fabric too ha!

Take your two side bodice pieces and pin them right sides together to the bodice main. When you do this you are going to overlap at the top so much that when flipped out you will BARELY be able to see the top of the "side bodice" piece.

Sew along the raw edges on both sides. Once you are done flip the side pieces out and topstitch what you just sewed.

(My right side ended up not lining up perfectly, some how I'll live, but if you are a very detailed person make sure they are the way you want them before topstitching)

Take the waistband piece that you cut on the bias and with right sides together line up the raw edges

Stitch along the raw edge. When you are done once again flip it out and topstitch what you just sewed

Now grab the "top" of your bodice. Line up the LONG edge of the bodice top with the raw edge of the bodice main and pin

Sew along the raw edge, then flip out and topstitch what you sewed. At this point you should have something that resembles this:

Now you are going to use this chunk of sewn together fabric as a "pattern" for your lining. Lay your apron top on a piece of plain white fabric (mine is the same fabric I used for the apron bottom) as seen above. Now cut around your apron top. Now lay these two pieces to the side and make your apron ties. I went with long strips of fabric with the edges hemmed this time. You could always do 2 pieces of fabric sewn together then flipped right side out, totally up to you :) You will also need two ties for around your neck. Once again I cut two long pieces of fabric and hemmed the edges. Either way once you have your ties take your two bodice pieces and your ties, lay the striped part of the apron bodice right side up. Pin your ties to ether side of the waistband at least a half an inch up from the bottom:

Now take your neck ties and pin them about 1/2 an inch in from either side.

Once you have both ties in place take your piece of plain white fabric and lay it right sides (um is there a right side?) down and line up the edges all the way around and pin in place.

Sew up one side, across the top and down the other. Do not sew across the bottom. Once you are done flip the entire thing right side out. At this point I ironed the whole thing and then topstitched what I sewed but that is optional :)

Half way done!

Now it is time for the apron bottom. How I did this was I cut a rectangle of fabric that when hemmed would be just slightly winder then my apron waistband and long enough to hit right above my knees. I literally did this by holding up the fabric and sticking pins in the key spots :)

Once you have a rectangle hem up the bottom and both sides.

I decided to add two little darts along the bust line to give it more shape. This is a totally optional step:) Now this is the part where you need to take it slow and think. You are going to make 3 tiers. These tiers are going to overlap slightly (keep this in mind when cutting them out) Take your extra white fabric and cut rectangles that when hemmed are the same width as your apron and long enough that when placed together they will be longer then the big rectangle you just cut out. I promise this is not hard. Just concentrate and think before you cut :) Once you have the three rectangles hem up the sides (do not worry about the tops and bottoms). Once done grab some of your stripped fabric. Depending on how wide you want your accent bands to be (keeping in mind they will be folded in half to make a clean edge) cut three strips that are slightly longer then the waistband. Once cut you are going to fold over the edges, then fold the entire thing in half:

Once done take one of your tiers and line the raw edges of your accent up with the raw edges (and right side) of your tier. Pin all the way along, then sew down the raw edge.

Flip the accent piece back and topstitch what you just sewed. Repeat this process with the other 2 rectangles. Choose which rectangle you wish to be on the top most tier and we are going to make little pockets. Take your tier and fold one side in just a little bit

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Now in the place you would like one of your pockets to be cut a slit.

Now repeat on the other side in the same locationish. Once you are down cut 2 small strips of stripe fabric that when hemmed will be the same length as your pocket opening.

Now you are going to cut to squares ON THE FOLD that are the same length at the slit and as deep as you like.

Now we are going to make a little fabric sandwich. Fold over the ends of your striped fabric strips. Now fold the whole thing in half. With right sides together line up the raw edges of your striped fabric strip and the raw edges of the bottom slit. Once lined up take one raw edge of the square you just cut and lay that on top lining up the raw edges. Pin in place.

Sew across the raw edges. Then Flip the long square of fabric in the slit and topstitch what you just sewed. Now, flip the tier over so that the wrong side is facing you. Line up the top raw edge of the pocket with the other loose raw edge of your pocket square. Sew along the raw edges. When you are done sew up either side then tuck the pocket in. Voila!

If this sounds to difficult you can always skip the pockets all together :)

Take your other two tiers and head to the ironing table. With wrong sides facing you fold over and iron about a half an inch of fabric all the way along the top. Now when you make the fabric right sides you there is a nice ironed finished edge on the top. If you cut your strips longer then your waistband now would be the time to sew a gathering stitch across the top and gather it up until it is the same size as your waistband. With right sides facing you pin the bottom tier about five inches up from the bottom

Place the second tier up higher but where it will over up where the first tier was attached. Now for the third tier, gather if you need to then tae your bodice top. Using a hot iron, iron in the bottom of the apron bodice so you make a little pocket of finished edges. Once done slide the apron bottom (lined up with the raw edges of the 3rd tier) in between the striped fabric and the white fabric. Pin all the way along.

Topstitch all the way across making sure you are catching all the layers as you sew. And thats it!!!

I hope the instructions were clear. I am trying hard to make the tutorials easier to understand and the patterns looking more professional but I am still learning! Now go sail away on a sea of frosting!